Waterfront's smooth jazz scene hits just the right note

A friend took me along to a smooth jazz concert Sunday night at the University Plaza Hotel. I was surprised to find an elegant waterfront music scene.

Michael Fitzgerald

A friend took me along to a smooth jazz concert Sunday night at the University Plaza Hotel. I was surprised to find an elegant waterfront music scene.

Inner City Productions staged a concert by saxophonist Vincent Ingala outdoors in the hotel courtyard. A great spot for small jazz concerts, it turns out.

"I love smooth jazz," said my friend, David Jon Foster. "I like the lifestyle. It's classy, it's sophisticated. There's usually not a lot of words, so you can put your own feelings into it. It just puts me into a good place."

Personally, I have music of virtually every genre beside smooth jazz. I have more Tuareg music than smooth jazz. This was dumb prejudice. Like many old rocker dudes, I thought: First you listen to The Clash, then to Wilco, then to smooth jazz. Then you die.

But smooth jazz is a good scene.

The late afternoon sun was mellowing over the courtyard, which opens onto the Waterfront Promenade. Palm trees rustled in the Delta breeze. You could feel the river.

Recorded smooth jazz filled the courtyard as a diverse crowd of about 300 over-35 pleasure seekers wearing Tommy Bahama, or patio-party sarongs, roamed the grounds, wine glasses in hand.

The hotel is V-shaped, seven stories; the space inside the V has a cooler microclimate than any other spot on the waterfront, said Inner City's owner Michael Newman.

And good acoustics. "One day I went in and looked and I said, 'Wow, I can't believe this environment here,' " Newman said. "It's right on the waterfront. There was a gentle breeze blowing through. I thought, 'This'd be a great venue for jazz'."

He put the stage nearest the water; further in the VIPs sat at tables in a roped-off section, noshing shrimp fettuccini from a buffet. Not bad for a $40 ticket.

Other VIPs sat on L-shaped couches near the stage with their bottles of booze. I wanted to be them.

The seating outside the rope ($25 advance, $30 at the door) was exceptionally good, though: cushioned wicker patio furniture, even the Mies van der Rohe sofas and chairs that used to be in the hotel lounge.

And clear sight lines.

Another surprise: People were there from all over the area. Modesto, Fresno, San Jose, Sunnyvale, San Leandro.

"We all have this community of people," said Jeannie Bewley, a Sacramento jeweler. "We go to a lot of the music venues together. We keep each other informed through Facebook and emails."

Ingala came on. He was good, by the way. A virtuoso with a groove. Smooth jazz feels good on a warm California evening. Pretty soon the shirts and sarongs were up dancing. Smooth jazz fans don't like to sit and listen, said Newman. They like the whole schmear: outdoor venues, dinners, le wine bar, jazz cruises, that sort of thing.

For them, the hotel's modern waterfront courtyard complements the concert experience of Top 50 jazz artists perfectly.

And it was the city at its best. When in late afternoon a full moon rose behind the palm trees, it could have been San Diego. But it didn't need to be.

After the show, a bubbly crowd moved inside and hung out in the lounge.

"I enjoyed myself a lot," Bewley said. "I thought they did a great job. I like the intimacy of it."

The hotel was the private sector component of early 2000s waterfront redevelopment. The ballpark, the arena, etc. There were supposed to be three waterfront restaurants, too. The recession - well, you know the story.

Those restaurants are still a few years away. As is waterfront housing. Fiscal 2015-16, perhaps.

Developers are starting to nibble, said Stockton Deputy City Manager Kurt Wilson.

"We think people are going to see it as you did," Wilson said. "When you go there, wow, what a magnificent place, and right here at home. Long term, I think it's very viable to do something on that site."